Two new hotels for the Emirates

13 Aug 2009 by Sara Turner

The UAE is set to gain two new hotels in October – Aloft Abu Dhabi will be the second largest hotel in Abu Dhabi, while Media One hotel is set to open in one of Dubai’s newest skyscrapers, the Media One Tower.

The 408-room Aloft Abu Dhabi will be the city’s second largest hotel, in terms of capacity, after the Beach Rotana hotel. It will also be the Emirates’ first Aloft-branded property, operated by Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Aloft Abu Dhabi is to be the first hotel built within the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre complex. Simon Horgan, chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), said: “For an exhibition development to be successful it must have accommodation on site which suits all aspects of its audience from luxury to value.

“The high demand and relatively low supply of hotel accommodation in Abu Dhabi is a concern for our international exhibitors and visitors, and so I am delighted that the first hotel to open at ADNEC will be the city’s second largest and one of its most competitively priced.”

The Aloft hotel will be located 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 15 minutes from Abu Dhabi International airport. It will feature the WXYZ bar, Re:fuel by Aloft restaurant, and a 24/7 pantry.

Stephan Vanden Auweele, general manager of the new hotel, said: “Aloft has re-invented the industry by ignoring certain aspects of hotels which have become cliched and old fashioned in the minds of our target audience.

“For example, free wireless internet is very important to our customers, but room service and silver service tea lobbies are not. We provide what our customers want and don’t concern ourselves with things that they don’t – this approach reduces our costs and allows us to provide the customer with a lower price per room.”

Media One hotel, Dubai is also set to open in October, in the 175-metre high Media One Tower. Located in Dubai’s Media City, the four-star property will have 260 rooms, a business centre and seven meeting rooms.

The hotel is part of a mixed-use development and will take up 23 floors of the 43-storey tower, with the remaining levels being used as office space. It will have a lounge-style terrace bar, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, and a café in the lobby, as well as a gym and outdoor pool.

Cora de Conceicao-Stuart, general manager of the forthcoming Media One hotel, said: “Trendy, inspiring and fun – this is what Media One hotel stands for. From the various quirky design elements, through to the unique guest service we will offer, it’s all about being young, vibrant and stylish in everything we do. Media One will be a hotel with a difference – a hotel with an edge.”

She added that the hotel’s approach will be “based on delivering what guests need, not what traditional hoteliers think they want”.

Media One Tower is owned by Al-Jaber Group and will be independently managed. The hotel was formerly called the Square Media One, and was originally set to be operated by Refad Hotels and Resorts, which currently runs the Monarch hotel in Dubai, among others. Earlier this year, Refad announced that it would no longer be managing the hotel due to current market conditions.